a chronicle of the eating experiences of two girls from cincinnati's westside

Monday, July 26, 2010

i skin a chicken and live to tell the tale

touching raw meat kind of makes me unhappy. it reminds me that i am preparing to eat an actual animal, not just "meat". using a whole chicken also invokes feelings of displeasure, as it is not much of a stretch to add a head and feathers. the body just feels so solid...despite my misgivings regarding interactions with whole animals, cooking light's recipe for root beer can chicken proved too intriguing and i decided to give it the old college try.problem one was that i could not find a 6-pack of root beer in 12 oz cans, only the mini 8 oz cans. emptied a can of la croix we have had hanging around since christmas (who drinks that anyway?) down the sink and replaced it with root beer. problem solved. this is the quick thinking that earned me a doctorate, people.problem two. preparation of my little chicken involved skinning it. blecht. i got to it, sliding the knife along between the muscle and the rubbery, cold skin. fun fact concerning poultry skin: when a person withdraws from opiates, the erector pili muscles contract causing piloerection, also known as goosebumps. hence the term "quitting cold turkey". these are the things i think about, which is probably why butchering type activities provide me with no joy.behold:

yeah, i know i didn't do a very thorough job and there is still some skin clinging to the extremities. frankly, i was tired of the whole process and had no desire to touch the bird more than absolutely necessary.

then i dressed him up to sit on the grill, rubbing him with the paprika mixture and inserting the root beer containing la croix can.

the whole can-in-the-cavity thing is a little appalling and looks indecent. brian's statement was "it looks like the chicken is taking a shit on our grill". i, on the other hand, was not so much of a gutter dweller. i'm seeing this:

but thinking this:

after the appropriate time on the grill and basting with reduced root beer periodically, the root beer can chicken was fully realized. it was actually quite delicious and very juicy. i had expected the rub to be more spicy, but if i make it again i can kick it up a notch. the suggested pairing with broccoli slaw and potatoes made the meal complete.i say "if" i make this recipe again, but brian definitely expressed his desire to see root beer can chicken on the table more often. i think he ate half the chicken. maybe next time he can handle the skinning.

5 comments:

"problem one was that i could not find a 6-pack of root beer in 12 oz cans, only the mini 8 oz cans. emptied a can of la croix we have had hanging around since christmas (who drinks that anyway?) down the sink and replaced it with root beer. problem solved. this is the quick thinking that earned me a doctorate, people."

Funny...I've made Beer Can chicken several times and never have canned beer, so I drink a diet coke, then pour the beer from the bottle into the can. No doctorate here...just a Master's degree. :)

lol - it disappoints me you do not have a can of hudy delight on hand. :)

i actually have little to no common sense and was not always so saavy. in high school my friend (who will remain nameless as i am sure you remember her from lourdes) and i had to build a pop bottle rocket at the last minute for the science olympiad. to get the pop bottle we forced down a whole 2-liter of all things, cream soda. to this day we laugh that it never occurred to either of us to simply pour the pop into a pitcher or something.

the recipe for our friendship

we're just two girls born and bred on the westside who grew up loving high school football, church festivals, cheap beer, and, of course, food. we're always looking for something new to taste, even if it's not the most recent addition to the menu at price hill chili.as is the genesis for many great friendships, we met through a mutual friend at a bar, circa 2000, and realized it was unbelievable we hadn't met previously. we knew the same people, had hung out at the same places, probably passed each other a million times. we were (and are) each other's kevin bacon. we both like to eat, drink, and eat some more. and, let's be honest, drink some more, too.questions? we'd love to hear from you at westsidefoodiewannabes@gmail.com.